Our take
A gentle, slightly melancholy Christmas Day hour that mixes a treasure hunt with a family mystery. Joan Sims is a treat as the boys' mother's old friend, and the hunt for the gold keeps it moving. The quiet doubts it raises about the brothers' parentage are left hanging, which gives it an unusual, thoughtful ending. Not the funniest special, but one that rewards fans of the long story.
What happens
Business is as dodgy as ever: Trotters Independent Trading is causing chaos with a batch of faulty home computers, Del and Uncle Albert are pushing miracle body massagers, and Rodney has taken a job at a funeral director's. At the Hampshire wedding of Trigger's niece, Lisa, Del bumps into Trigger's aunt, Irene Turpin, known as Reenie, who was his late mother's best friend. Over a few drinks she tells the story of Freddy the Frog, a bank robber and close friend of the boys' mother, who left everything in his will to her, including a haul of gold bullion that was never found. Del throws himself into a treasure hunt, convinced the gold is rightfully theirs. Rodney, meanwhile, keeps turning over the nature of Freddy's friendship with his mother, and the fact that Freddy had a son who would by now be about his own age.
Can the kids watch it?
Fine for most children from about 8: mild language and talk of a bank robber, nothing graphic.
Cast and crew
Starring
- David Jason as Del
- Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney
- Buster Merryfield as Uncle Albert
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as Trigger
- John Challis as Boycie
- Sue Holderness as Marlene
Guest stars
- Angela Morant as Woman in Market
- Joan Sims as Reenie Turpin
- Geraldine Cowper as Lisa
Writer
- John Sullivan
Director
- Ray Butt